Natural Resources Law Commons^™

Montana Wildlife Federation V. Bernhardt, Henry D. O'Brien

Public Land & Resources Law Review

A federal court in Montana vacated the lease sale of several large oil and gas developments in Montana and Wyoming because BLM’s revised guidance documents, which facilitated the lease sales, failed to prioritize development outside of sage-grouse habitat, as required by BLM land use plans. BLM adopted the prioritization requirement in 2015 as part of an effort to prevent the sage-grouse from being listed under the Endangered Species Act. The court held BLM violated the Federal Land Policy and Management Act when it essentially eliminated the prioritization requirement and approved the lease sales without properly amending the land use plans.

County Of Maui, Hawaii V. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, Rachel L. Wagner

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Supreme Court of the United States was recently asked to decide whether the Clean Water Act requires a permit for the discharge of pollutants that originate from a point source but are conveyed to navigable waters by a nonpoint source. Vacating the Ninth Circuit’s “fairly traceable” test, the Court held the Clean Water Act requires a permit when there is a direct discharge of pollutants from a point source into navigable waters or when there is the “functional equivalent of a direct discharge.”

U.S. Forest Service V. Cowpasture River Preservation Ass'n., Taylor A. Simpson

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the United States Forest Service and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, a company who planned to construct a natural gas pipeline under a section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail within the George Washington National Forest. The legal battle sought to clarify whether the United States Forest Service had the authority to grant the pipeline builder a right-of-way across the Appalachian Trail. The Court ruled that the National Park Service holds an easement for administering the Appalachian Trail, but the land over which the trail crosses remains under the jurisdiction of the …

National Wildlife Federation V. Secretary Of The United States Department Of Transportation, Holly A. Seymour

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in favor of the Department of Transportation in considering whether the district court erred in holding that an agency took a discretionary action when it approved oil spill response plans to a pipeline under the Clean Water Act. The Sixth Circuit reversed the district court’s decision. It held the Department of Transportation does not need to consider the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act requirements in their response plans as long as the Clean Water Act criteria for such plans are met.

Mcgirt V. Oklahoma, Allison Barnwell

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States Supreme Court ruled that large areas of Oklahoma, including much of the City of Tulsa, are reservation land. The case arose from an Oklahoma state court’s conviction of Jimcy McGirt on several criminal offenses. Mr. McGirt argued the State of Oklahoma lacked jurisdiction to prosecute because he was an enrolled member of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma and committed his crimes on the Creek Reservation. Under the Major Crimes Act, only the federal government has the power to try tribal members for crimes committed on reservation lands. In a five to four decision, the Court held that …

Table Of Contents, Seattle University Law Review

Seattle University Law Review

Table of Contents

Litigating For The Homeland: An Indian Treaty Framework To Climate Litigation In The Wake Of Juliana, Evan Neustater

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Climate change is an increasingly pressing issue on the world stage. The federal government, however, has largely declined to address any problems stemming from the effects of climate change, and litigation attempting to force the federal government to take action, as highlighted by Juliana v. United States, has largely failed. This Note presents the case for a class of plaintiffs more likely to succeed than youth plaintiffs in Juliana—federally recognized Indian tribes. Treaties between the United States and Indian nations are independent substantive sources of law that create enforceable obligations on the federal government. The United States maintains a …

Look To Windward: The Michigan Environmental Protection Act And The Case For Atmospheric Trust Litigation In The Mitten State, Jonathan M. Coumes

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Failure to address climate change or even slow the growth of carbon emissions has led to innovation in the methods activists are using to push decisionmakers away from disaster. In the United States, climate activists frustrated by decades of legislative and executive inaction have turned to the courts to force the hand of the state. In their most recent iteration, climate cases have focused on the public trust doctrine, the notion that governments hold their jurisdictions’ natural resources in trust for the public. Plaintiffs have argued that the atmosphere is part of the public trust and that governments have a …

Getting The Most Out Of Extractive Industries Transparency: How A More Explicit Treatment Of Political Considerations Could Strengthen The Impact Of Transparency Efforts, Columbia Center On Sustainable Investment

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Work on transparency in the extractive industries (EI) has achieved important successes over the last two decades. For example, significant commitments to disclosure have been secured, the volume of publicly available information about critical activities has increased considerably, and norms around certain information being in the public domain have been established. There is also a growing library of use cases for this information. Nonetheless, important work remains to be done to translate these efforts into impact.

Political context is crucial to determining the fate of transparency efforts. Therefore, grappling with political context more effectively will also be key to unlocking …

Natural Resources And Natural Law Part Ii: The Public Trust Doctrine, Robert W. Adler

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

Natural Resources and Natural Law Part I: Prior Appropriation analyzed claims by some western ranchers, grounded in natural law, that they have property rights in grazing resources on federal public lands through prior appropriation. Those individuals advocated their position in part through civil disobedience and armed standoffs with federal officials. They also asserted that their duty to obey theistic natural law overrode any duty to obey the Nation’s positive law. Similar claims that individual religious beliefs override positive law have been made recently regarding a range of other controversial issues, such as same-sex marriage, public insurance for birth control, and …

The Great Debate, Dorothy Bradley

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Polly Holmes: When The Smoke Began To Clear, Hal Harper, Krys Holmes

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

If You're Old Enough To Fight, You're Old Enough To Vote, Bob Brown

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Montana's Need For Change: A Historical Context For "To Make A Better Place.", Evan D. Barrett

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Earth Day 1970, Dorothy Bradley

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Alice Creek — 1970 Montana Confronts The Copper Giant, James D. Moore

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Quotes And Acknowledgments

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Letter From The Editor

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Dedication

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Editors And Staff Members

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Defence Of Necessity And Addressing Climate Change: A Canadian Case, David Gooderham

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting Esa-Listed Bull Trout In The Face Of Climate Change: Can The Endangered Species Act And The Clean Water Act Do Their Part?, Jonathan Drake Ph.D J.D.

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

How The West Is Won: Advancing Water Law For Watershed Health, Laura Ziemer, Timothy Hawkes, Michelle Bryan, Kevin Rechkoff

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Environmental Stewardship Of Public Lands? The Decline Of Westslope Cutthroat Trout Along The Eastern Slopes Of The Rocky Mountains In Alberta, Shawn C. Fluker, David W. Mayhood

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Bringing Back The Great Bear: Challenges And Opportunities Of Grizzly Restoration In The Northern Rockies, Thomas France Esq., Dan Brister Esq., Ms.

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Other Non-Renewable Resource: Cultural Resource Protection In A Changing Energy Future, Wesley J. Furlong

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

Epilogue: Progressive Populism’S Glory Days, Rick Applegate

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Black Book, Rob Raney

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.

History Of The Coal Tax, Thomas E. Towe

Public Land & Resources Law Review

No abstract provided.